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All I Want For XMAS Is Nuclear Fusion

The holy grail of energy production on Earth is a self-sustaining nuclear fusion reaction, the same process that creates energy within stars (the sun fuses 620 million metric tons of hydrogen per second). It produces 10,000 times more energy than burning coal.

There is certainly a race to build the first functional nuclear fusion reactor (Voice of America video here). The ITER project (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is an agreement signed by China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States to design and build an experimental nuclear fusion reactor in the next 10 years. It is based in Saint Paul-lez-Durance, France. Lockhead Martin (United States) is also working on a nuclear fusion reactor with the claim (met with skepticism) that it will be developed within the next 5 years. At the University of Washington, scientists are trying to develop nuclear fusion to power the trip to Mars. The United States government is working on it at the National Ignition Facility (NIF).

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Brian Heater has worked at a number of tech pubs, including Engadget, Laptop, and PCMag (where he served as Senior Editor). Most recently, he was as the Managing Editor of TechTimes.com. His writing has appeared in Spin, Wired, Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, The Onion, Boing Boing, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Beast and various other publications. He hosts the weekly Boing Boing interview podcast RiYL, has appeared as a regular NPR contributor and shares his Queens apartment with a rabbit named Lucy.

Keri is the founder of Raw Science TV. She is a bioengineer and ballet dancer so is interested in the intersection of science and media. She is also active in empowering girls and women in STEM through access to energy and telemedicine. You can follow her on Facebook: @KeriKukral

Lydia works in cancer research as a technical science editor and content creator. She is a futurist interested in space exploration and social initiatives. She is also the co-founder of Givdo, a gaming app where users play sponsored games to win money for charity. You can follow her on Twitter: @lydeey

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